Branch out with celery

There is more to celery than the bland vegetable we grew up with. Celery has three main forms: the large-stalked, green celery commonly found at supermarkets; the smaller, more highly flavored soup celery; and celery root, also called celeriac.

Soup celery and red varieties of celery are generally hardier and easier to grow than the more common varieties. All are relatively easy to grow, as long as they have abundant food and water. The site should be sunny and the soil rich and well-dug with organic matter.

Here's how to grow celery:

Start your plants from seed or nursery seedlings. If growing from seed, start them from February through April. Sow seed on the soil surface in separate containers. Keep moist. Germination is erratic and occurs in one to three weeks. Use a heated germinating mat to ensure the soil temperature stays above 55 degrees.

When celery transplants are 2 to 3 inches tall, harden them off outside in a protected place for a few days, then place into the garden on 12-inch centers in rows 18 inches apart. Celeriac can be planted on 10-inch centers.

An effective, space-saving method is to place celery in trenches between rows of potatoes. Water is easily captured in this way, and the base of the celery can be surrounded by soil and blanched as it grows, producing a tender stalk. It also prevents celeriac from drying out.

Give all forms of celery a half-cup of complete fertilizer for each 5 feet of row, with a foliar feeding of fish and kelp every two weeks. Cease fertilizing by Sept. 1 to help plants harden off.

Some years a mild winter will allow you to leave celery in the ground for extended harvest into or throughout the winter. As cold weather approaches, you can dig up your celeries, roots and all, and place them in cold frames, covered with leaves or mulch. Harvest as needed. Celeriac is hardy to at least 14 degrees and has better taste and texture if left undug and allowed to go through a frost.

Celeries self-seed well, so you'll have a few volunteers even if you forget to replant.

Bugs and disease are seldom a problem for these plants in the home garden.

Celery leaves, stalks, flowers and seeds are edible. Peeled celeriac root has a creamy texture and nutty flavor when added to soups and stews. It is delicious sautéed in butter or steamed. It also may be julienned or grated in salads. Celeriac stalks are bitter, so they're seldom eaten.